AGINGAN POINT NOVEMBER 15 2009

Agingan Point is the furthest southwest point of Saipan. Here I am on the Coral Ocean Point golf course walking toward Agingan Point. I was quite surprised in seeing several Monarch Butterflies. Prior to this day, I had probably seen less than 10 Monarchs since moving here. I'll bet I saw at least 10 on this very day. It is my understanding that, in addition to the Monarchs famous for traversing across North America, there are also populations in China and Australia. Even at that, these guys have traveled a long journey.

I'll admit there there were MANY photos which ended up with just orange-blurry-blobs where butterflies should have been. But any of them which came out clear enough for the antennae to show well I was a bit proud of.

I wonder what some of the young Japanese soldiers who served here during WWII would have said if you had told them that this bunker would eventually be a part of a golf course on a United States territory serving primarily Japanese who would come here to play golf.

Doesn't the water look SOOOOO inviting? Especially if you consider that it was probably about 87 degrees, humid, and with the sun beating down most of the time. Here we are looking back toward the east (where I had just come from).

In the mid-distance you see the green (with the red flag) which you saw a few pictures ago. Nice place to sit and watch the waves. Since this is a T-off mound, not likely to be hit by golf balls right here, either.

Now I have gone around the "point" and am looking north. You can see a "readiness ship" on the horizon to your left. Managaha Island is barely visible just to your left from the beach and trees. Pacific Island Club is in the trees you see along the beach. Mount Tapatchau is the high point. Press "Map This" above, if you would like to see where some of these shots were taken from (I marked approximately where I was standing when I took the shots, as opposed to where the subjects of the shots were).

This video starts just prior to the fishermen you saw earlier, then jumps to the location where I was standing for the last photograph. The fisherman you see in the last segment is not one of the two you saw earlier, but I don't think he was having any better luck.

Press the triangle, then it may take a few minutes to load before it starts. Sometimes (if it starts too soon) you may need to pause it and allow it to buffer fully before allowing it to play. The video is only 2 minutes and 7 seconds long. If you like Otis Redding, turn your volume up.

I thought that the rail wheel assemblies under the rock to your lower right were interesting. I do wonder the story behind them. If anyone seeing this knows, please leave a comment below to let us know about them!
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Another Japanese Bunker. You can see an origami hanging in the rear of the bunker. Japanese tend to leave these around as tokens to memorialize those who served and died. It is my understanding that these decorations are also supposed to bring good luck to the abode which houses them.

On my way back around, these guys waved and yelled to get my attention so that I would return to them and see that they had finally caught something. It was now nearly 2:00 PM, and they were very glad that they could now look forward to a nice fish dinner. They definitely deserved it!

Photographing a monarch in flight is probably as difficult as skatin' in a buffalo herd, or taking a bath in a parakeet's cage, or changing your film while a kid is on your back. Well, just turn up your volume and press the triangle and I think you'll see what I mean......

This video is only 1 minute and 4 seconds in length.

I took a different-from-the-usual road home. Just got a kick out of the name of this church.

Hope you enjoyed the photos! More to come (of other stuff) in the future, I'm sure.